37. CHAPTER XXXVII.
SNOBSON'S MARRIAGE—ROLAND'S FAILURE.
What a buzz there was in Babbleton! The sudden discharges
of cannon at the garrison after so long a silence, had
at first put the country on the qui vive; and afterwards when
it was known that the beldame parvenu had fallen from her
high estate—she who had once submitted to the humiliation
of repairing old bonnets for housemaids and cooks to wear
o' Sundays, and had afterwards been made the mistress of one
of the finest establishments in the country—there could be no
further restraint imposed upon the gossiping inclinations of the
inhabitants. Woe to the wife who is put away by her husband!
she falls like Lucifer, never to rise again!
The Winkles were once more in the ascondant. They were
again a united family, rich and powerful. The papers had announced
the approaching nuptials of Lucy with the Earl of
Hilton, and now a paragraph was going the rounds to the effect
that Walter had been released from jail by the fair daughter
of a distinguished senator, who was soon to become his wife,
and bind him for ever with hymenial fetters.
During the few months immediately succeeding the recovery
of Mr. Napoleon Winkle, Miss Wilsome, Lucy, and Virginia,
spent the greater portion of their time at his stately old
mansion, which they had renovated and adorned in the most
approved style preparatory for the festivities of which it was
soon to be the scene. It is not to be supposed that Lowe and
Walter did not sometimes mingle in their consultations.
Even the widow Winkle herself, who had not been farther from
home than the church for many years, might have been seen
occasionally occupying a seat in the old family coach, as it daily
rolled backwards and forwards between the chateau and the
village. The countess too, accompanied by Mrs. Laurel, made
several incognito visits to the village and the palace without
being detected by the reporters.
Mr. Napoleon Winkle, in consideration of the fact that the
countess still lamented the loss of her lord on the field of Waterloo,
suspended his operations in the field, and contented
himself with the game of chess. In this manner, knights were
overthrown, castles taken, and kings check-mated, — the
countess herself being a match for him, and fond of the game.
The time fixed upon for the celebration of the double nuptials
was the week succeeding the adjournment of Congress.
That was the period dictated by Colonel Oakland for the exchange
of ratifications.
But the Winkles were not to be permitted to monopolize
the hymenial altar in Babbleton. Negotiations were reopened
by Blanche Arum with Mr. Thomas Snobson, and a treaty of
alliance unconditionally aggreed upon, and sanctioned by their
parents. The young ones being resolved to marry, their parents,
under the supposition that their maintenance would cost
them but little if any more united, than when separated,
yielded to their determination.
When it was understood there was certainly to be a wedding
in the Arum family,—and such things are not easily concealed,—the
Crudles were immediately roused to action. Mrs.
Crudle undertook to dispose of her eldest daughter to Mr. Roland;
and within forty-eight hours of the conception of the
resolution, she had so far succeeded, that it only remained for
Susan to name the day. She consulted Blanche Arum, and it
was agreed that their nuptials should precede those of the
Winkles, and be celebrated the week before the adjournment
of Congress.
When the day arrived, as every appointed day must arrive,
however distant, Roland and Snobson led their elected brides
to the altar in full church. Lowe and Lucy, Walter and Virginia,
and Parke—who still lingered in the north, while his
mother was looking for him in the south—and Julia Nitre were
among the congregation of witnesses. It has never been asserted
in general conversation that Walter was more than a
mere spectator: but we suppose it to be quite probable he was
an instigator, if not an actor, of one of the most unexpected
and novel scenes that ever occurred in the church at Babbleton.
Even Lowe and Parke were, very probably, privy to the plot.
The young ladies, however—Lucy, Virginia, Julia—must be
acquitted of any complicity. They were merely innocent spectators
of the ceremony—innocent and interested—for each and
all of them thought of the approaching day, then near at hand,
when they too would be called upon to stand at the same altar
and make the same responses.
But why had Bawson been so often in consultation with
Walter? It was natural to suppose their business had reference
to a marriage settlement, and no one thought it at all remarkable.
And it was to settle a marriage with a vengeance!
The ceremony proceeded, Mr. Amble officiating, with long
candles burning behind the altar, although there was an abundance
of glorious sunshine pouring in at the doors and windows.
The question of precedence, after a protracted discussion of
three days, had been settled, and Blanche was to be wedded
first.
At the appointed signal from the priest, Snobson and his
elect approached the chancel with quivering lips and trembling
knees. But, as Mr. Napoleon Winkle remarked, they faced
the fire very well, considering the desperate affair they were
engaged in. They were united “for better, for worse, for
richer, for poorer,” and then drew back and yielded the place
of execution, as Napoleon called it, to the other victims.
Roland led Susuan forward with consummate impudence.
Napoleon said he was fool-hardy. The minister proceeded.
A stillness prevailed when he came to the words—“If any
man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined
together, let him now speak, or else hereafter hold his peace.”
“If it please your honor,” said Bawson, rising in his pew,
and addressing the minister as he would a judge, “I have
something to say why they may not lawfully be joined together.”
A thrill of horror shot through nearly every breast. For
many moments all eyes were fixed upon the lawyer, and a profound
silence ensued, which intimidated Bawson himself.
“What have you to say, sir?” at last demanded Roland,
the minister seeming to be incapable of uttering any thing
further.
“That I am prepared to show just cause why you may not
be lawfully joined together,” said Bawson, still standing.
“What can you show?” demanded Roland.
“That you are already married to Elizabeth Dizzle.”
“Bets Dizzle!” repeated many voices.
“How can you show that?”
“By this deposition,” said Bawson, drawing forth the document,
which he was about to commence reading, when Mr.
Crudle rushed forward and caught his fainting daughter in his
arms, and bore her away from the church.
Roland mounted his horse and galloped off towards the hut
occupied by the Dizzles, but it had been abaudoned, and Elizabeth
was then in the village, sojourning with the lawyer's
family.
From tongue to tongue the exciting news expanded over
the village with surprising rapidity. Nor was the astonishing
announcement of Roland's marriage with Betsy Dizzzle, the
only incident which elated the good citizens of Babbleton that
day. For the father of Tom Snobson, when waiting at the
depot for the train which was to convey him back to the city,
received a telegraphic dispatch which caused him to fall down
in a fit. His son's father-in-law read the communication, while
the rest were sprinkling the broker's face with ice water. It
was the announcement of the failure of one of the largest private
banking houses in the country, with which Snobson was
intimately connected and deeply involved. Nor was that all.
Crudle himself had been induced to join them in the gigantic
railroad speculation which caused the disaster. And now, upon
the wedding day, they were both ruined!
